Democratic Underground will go dark at 3am ET January 18 to protest SOPA and PIPA

This discussion thread was locked by Skinner (a host of the Announcements group).

Democratic Underground will go dark for 18 hours on January 18, from 3am ET until 9pm ET, to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). During that time visitors will not be able to read or post on the site. We know that you depend on Democratic Underground to be there for you, and we did not take the decision to join this protest lightly.

Democratic Underground is an open, community-based website that depends on content provided by our visitors. That includes original content created by our members, and excerpts and links to content published elsewhere. Because of the work our members put into their posts here, and also because of our dependence on excerpts and links from elsewhere, we have a deep appreciation for content creators, and we understand the importance of protecting their work. The DU Administrators understand the importance of protecting copyrights -- we have always made a good faith effort to respect copyrights on this site, and we expect our members to do the same.

However, we here at Democratic Underground have first-hand knowledge of what it is like to be unfairly harassed in the name of copyright enforcement. Over the last year we have been a defendant in a high-profile copyright-trolling case in which we were threatened with tens of thousands of dollars of damages and the loss of our domain name, because one of our members posted a brief five-sentence excerpt of an article. The experience has made us extremely sensitive to the issue of out-of-control copyright enforcement, and we feel that we have a responsibility to add our voice to the protests taking place across the Internet.

During the downtime, we hope that you will take a moment and contact your representatives in Congress to let them know that you support an open Internet, and you oppose SOPA and PIPA. You can look up your representatives on the EFF website.

64. I'm gonna miss it but KUDOS to DU for doing this!

65. I'll miss you all

Especially since I just got home from a business trip made a LOT less stressful because I was able to reach DU by Wifi AND "drill down" for advice about local transportation and entertainment from some "natives." I'm also grateful for those of you who made the ninth annual "You Call This NEWS?" awards -- posted on both DU2 and DU3 -- the most viewed ever.

As I understand how SOPA is currently written, ANY kind of linking -- with or without "fair use" excerpts -- could be legally defined as "piracy" or "copyright infringement." And even if that were not the case, SOPA is also devoid of constitutionally guaranteed due process.

So I'll suck it up, dedicate the 18 hours to working on my other projects, and will see you on the other side.

76. Righteous.

77. The unions of the AFL-CIO that represent professionals...

...in the Arts, Entertainment and Media Industries (AEMI) include Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) are wholly in support of the widest possible access to content on the Internet and the principles of net neutrality, so long as intellectual property rights—and the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are at stake—are respected.

Some would like to portray the debate over Internet theft as one in which a few wealthy artists, creators and powerful corporations are concerned about “giving away” their “product” because they are greedy and cannot change with the times to create new business models. The hundreds of thousands of people represented by the AEMI unions of the AFL-CIO are a testament to the falsity of that proposition.

Online theft and the sale of illegal CDs and DVDs are not “victimless crimes.” Digital theft costs jobs and benefits. It is critical, at this important moment in the evolution of the Internet and potential Internet policy, for union members and leaders to publicly and visibly engage in a sustained effort to protect members’ livelihoods, the creation and innovation that are the hallmark of their work and the economic health and viability of the creative industries in this country. The AEMI unions and other unions in U.S. entertainment stress that pirated content is devastating to the entertainment professionals who create the underlying works.

The AFL-CIO strongly supports the efforts of the AEMI unions and the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, to combat piracy. It commends their work with government and industry to develop workable solutions to protect the interests of their members. The AFL-CIO urges its affiliate unions to educate their members about the adverse impact of piracy; to support efforts to ensure that government officials and lawmakers are aware of, and support the protection of, entertainment industry jobs that will be lost to online theft; to encourage their members to respect copyright law; and to urge their members, as a matter of union solidarity, to never illegally download or stream pirated content or purchase illegal CDs and DVDs.

85. Opposing SOPA and PIPA isn't about supporting piracy

These are bad bills that if passed could have extremely dire ramifications for the entire Internet.

Together, Fair Use and Safe Harbors allow for innovation because they create safe space for both free expression and honest mistakes. But content providers hate Fair Use and (more importantly) Safe Harbors because providers think these exceptions take the teeth out of enforcement, creating loopholes you could drive a truck through.

SOPA/PIPA gets rid of Safe Harbors. There is no safe space. A copyright holder can initiate a "private right of action", convince a judge to issue an injunction (which we now know is way too easy to do) get your domain blocked, your advertising pulled and your finances frozen.

And thanks to to SOPA/PIPA's immunity provisions, a copyright holder wouldn't even need a court order shut you down, just a letter to your service providers threatening to.

165. Well, there wasn't much there when I checked it last night

But it was awfully late. Someone posted the notice that DU was going dark, good idea for those who might not have seen the announcement. I was afraid you might not have seen it in time, but at least we now know it's still active.

169. I am EXTREMELY proud of DU and the admins for doing this

this is a badge of honor - to have been on the side of a free internet - one of THE most worthy causes these days in the way it will shape the entire future - that's what is at stake with SOPA. Bravo DU, Skinner, Elad, and EarlG. This is STILL more important to the future than most people can even comprehend

171. Democratic Underground will go dark at 3am ET January 18 to protest SOPA and PIPA

But it was awfully late. Someone posted the notice that DU was going dark, good idea for those who might not have seen the announcement. I was afraid you might not have seen it in time, but at least we now know it's still active